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By Selayar Island Editorial Desk
Kampung Penyu Selayar is a community turtle conservation project at Barugaiya in Bontomanai district, on a black-sand beach on the island's west coast. Indonesia Expat says it began in July 2012, with eggs incubated in a fenced area. The magazine describes a hatchling release, but no source offers a schedule, so none can be assumed for your visit.
What is Kampung Penyu Selayar?
The fullest account of this turtle village is a feature in Indonesia Expat. The magazine places Kampung Penyu at Barugaiya in Bontomanai district, on a black-sand beach on the west coast. It says eggs are incubated in a fenced area, reports three turtle species at the site, and describes a hatchling release. Wikipedia's article on the regency has a section on a sea turtle village in Bontomanai district, which supports the location and adds little else.
A second place complicates this. The regency's 2024 list of attractions names a turtle conservation area at Sumingi, reached by road, with hatchling release, snorkelling and traditional food. Keep the Sumingi and Barugaiya names apart when you ask around, since the list does not link them, and if a driver offers to take you to the turtles, ask which one he means.
No opening hours, entry fee, phone number or website is published, and nothing records how active the project is this season. Plan around that gap.
How did it start?
Indonesia Expat says the project was conceived in July 2012 by a member of Sileya Scuba Divers together with a community leader. That pairing is the interesting part of the story: a dive business and a village figure, starting something on a beach in a place where, as the WWF material below shows, turtles were not always welcome. The feature is a magazine piece, so its account of who did what is one telling of the origin.
What the project does, as described, is simple. Eggs go into a protected, fenced area until they hatch, and the hatchlings are released to the sea. The feature supplies no survival or hatch numbers, so its effect on local turtle populations is unmeasured.
Which turtles live around Selayar?
Sources agree that turtles are here. They differ in what they are measuring, and that decides how much each one tells a visitor.
| Source | What it says | What it cannot tell you |
|---|---|---|
| UNESCO | Lists hawksbill and green turtle in the Taka Bonerate-Kepulauan Selayar Biosphere Reserve | Whether either species is found at Kampung Penyu |
| Indonesia Expat | Three species at the Barugaiya site | Current numbers or seasons |
| WWF-Indonesia | Waters west of Selayar and around Gusung are among the most important habitats for sea turtles; turtles were the animal fishers met most often | Your odds of seeing one, as this is a fisheries survey |
| Selayar Dive Resort | Turtles appear on almost every house reef dive | Anything beyond that operator's own reef, and it has a stay to sell |
Put together, these sources show that turtles use these waters, including those around Pasi Gusung island. None gives odds for any side of the island. WWF's fishers also reported whale sharks, manta rays, dolphins and dugongs, but those are encounters reported by people who spend their lives at sea, and they should not be read as a sign of what a week's holiday will bring. If wildlife is part of your reason for coming, the page on the Selayar tarsier covers the animal named after the island.
What does WWF say about turtles here?
This is where the story gets harder. WWF-Indonesia's 2017 survey found that gill nets and longlines carry a high risk of turtle bycatch, and that some fishers still see turtles as pests. Its article is titled around that second finding, and it is a useful corrective to the cheerful image a phrase like turtle village can suggest.
WWF's fisheries work also helps explain why location matters. It reports that fishers go far out to western waters in the east season and fish the sheltered eastern shallows in the west season. Selayar's fishing effort therefore moves around the island with the wind, which means a nesting beach cannot be considered in isolation from the boats working offshore. The article calls the waters west of Selayar and around Gusung one of the most important turtle habitats, and those are the same western waters.
The survey is nine years old, so fishing practice may have shifted since. A small village hatchery and a wide bycatch problem are different in scale, and a visitor should hold both in mind: the project may do real good on its beach, and it cannot by itself answer what happens in the nets.
What should visitors know?
Go with modest expectations and good questions. We do not promise a release on any date. Eggs hatch when they hatch. Nothing here should be read as a tour, a schedule or an arrangement of ours.
Before you make the trip, try to find out:
- Is anyone on site this week, and is there anyone to explain the work to you?
- Are there eggs in the incubation area now?
- Are hatchlings released when they are ready, or held until visitors arrive? If the answer is the second, think about whether you want to take part.
- Is there a set contribution, and what does it pay for?
- Are you going to Barugaiya or to Sumingi?
Bontomanai is one of the six main-island districts, so no sea crossing is needed. One traveller on the TurtlePhD blog drove the west-coast road by hired scooter. The west side is exposed to big waves for part of the year, and the page on the Selayar east coast vs west coast sets out the months. Other stops to combine with the day are on the page about things to do in Selayar Island.
What else do people ask about the turtle village?
Who founded Kampung Penyu Selayar?
Indonesia Expat says it was conceived in July 2012 by a member of Sileya Scuba Divers together with a community leader. That magazine feature is the one account of the origin cited here.
Where is Kampung Penyu Selayar located?
Indonesia Expat places it at Barugaiya in Bontomanai district, on a black-sand beach on the west coast of the main island. Wikipedia also mentions a sea turtle village in Bontomanai.
Is Kampung Penyu near Benteng, Selayar?
Both are on the main island, so you can go overland. Ask a driver in Benteng how far it is, and ask at the same time whether he means Barugaiya or the conservation area at Sumingi.
Is Kampung Penyu Selayar worth visiting?
It suits someone already on the west coast with an interest in community conservation. It is a poor reason to cross to Selayar on its own, since no one can promise you will find hatchlings, or even a guide, on the day.
Can you see a hatchling release at Kampung Penyu?
Indonesia Expat describes one, and the regency lists hatchling release at Sumingi, both without a schedule. A release depends on nests and timing, so treat one as luck and ask locally before you travel.
Which sources support this page?
- Indonesia Expat: sea turtles, the Selayar marine conservation challenge
- WWF-Indonesia: Selayar at a glance
- UNESCO: Taka Bonerate-Kepulauan Selayar Biosphere Reserve
- Regency list of attractions, 2024
- Wikipedia: Selayar Islands Regency
- Selayar Dive Resort (operator page)
- TurtlePhD: Selayar (traveller's blog)
How do I reach the desk?
Whether anyone is on site this month is something the desk may be able to ask about, without promising an answer: WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or bd@juaraholding.com. A request can end in a paid booking elsewhere on the island, and about this guide explains that interest.
Send the desk your dates, group size, and what you want to do. The desk replies in writing.
Ask the desk on WhatsApp bd@juaraholding.com